F4/ 
L 



>e Profile 




cLnd 



How It Was Saved 




15he PROFILE 

and How It Was Saved 




A brief story giving the facts about The 

Profile in the Franconia Notch 

in New Hampshire 

By Rev. GUY ROBERTS 

IL 

Copyrighted, 1917 
By Kev. Guy Robbrts 



i 



•6 

Age of The Profile 

The concensus of geological opin- 
ion as to when the Franconia Moun- 
tains were brought into practically 
their present form of existence, 
places it at about the end of the 
glacial period. The great North 
American ice-sheet covered the Fran- 
conia Mountains as it did all others 
in New England, and has left dis- 
tinct record of its passage over their 
summits. 

The far-famed Profile on Mount 
Cannon is supposed to have been 
brought forth partly as the result 
of the melting and slipping away 
action of the ice-sheet, and partly 
by the action of the frost and 
ice in crevices, forcing off, and mov- 
ing about certain rocks and ledges 
into profile forming positions. It is 
fair to suppose that the exact profile 
of " The Old Man of the Mountain " 
was completed during the latter part 
of the post-glacial period, from 2000 
to 10,000 years ago. Perhaps it 
would be safe to " split the differ- 
ence " and call it 6 000 years ago, 
which would put his birth back to 
near the time when 

" Adam delved and Eve spun." 

Anyway, like all mortals made of 
dust, he had a Creator, and in view 
of the paucity of properly attested 
genealogical history, this tracing of 
his family tree is not unreasonable. 

Discovery of The Profile 

Although we have yet to hear of 
any traditions left by the American 



/ 



5ci.A459tioC ^pp _9 ,9,7 .^ / 



face " of " The Old Man of the Moun- 
tain." Here the matter was dropped 
and in the main forgotten. 

The Rediscovery 

Years come and go. A new gen- 
eration is on the scene and still the 
Profile awaits its hastening doom. 

One day the author, one of whose 
earliest recollections is of his mother 
telling him of seeing " The Old Man 
of the Mountain " when on her wed- 
ding trip many years before, stood 
for the first time to gaze spellbound 
upon this wonder. He went away, 
only to return again another year, 
and yet another. He read all he 
could find about the Profile. Being 
naturally of a curious turn of mind 
he began to wonder if the guide- 
book descriptions of the Profile were 
correct, for to him it did not seem so. 
A desire to make an investigation for 
himself took possession of him. But 
how? That was the question. How 
get there? How know that he had 
reached the correct spot, even when 
there, for naturally a profile would 
not be visible from the top of a 
head. Enquiries were made, but all 
to no avail. The top of the head was 
declared unknown, or inaccessible. 
But finally days came that afforded 
ample opportunity for an exhaustive 
study of the Profile from the road 
below with the aid of a powerful 
glass, with the result that a way was 
discovered to get there, and a way 
to know that one had arrived at the 
correct spot when once there. A 
little later this plan was carried out, 



Profile Locnilon Developn 

Even thouKli " Tlio Notch 



aevlnu But Not Percolvlng 
multttudPs hnvo cnmc^Wpwrl 



ivti iiiiKiinwn. GHp«dnlIy ho in vlrtw 
or tbo further fact thnt no giildes uro 
aVHllnblQ to load one to the exact lo- 

..J?* White HUb" atnted that — 
■* The Proftio 1» formed by three s^d- 
iiroto and dlscoiinoctud ledges of 



ohisclcd notches wi 



nd In the main forgotten. 
The Rediscovery 



deep concern for the future b 



A-hlch formg the promln 








preNtdoDt of the Prufllo 



Ownership of The Profile 




■ Old Man of tho i 



1 move before It will 



past generutfons. A model in 



Ibouia be done by tho Slalo : 



rcraalnhiB (JO percpnt prgjocts 






TK« "OporMion" tkl Laal 




Del&ll of Fastening 



> flot steel blocke. In 



How The Profile ts Formed 

The Protlle is formed on a sboul- 



■veral hundred feet. Be- 



[U: HUiit-rlntondont ot the 




ono ot WebBterlan proportlona. 




and on September 5, 19 06, the top 
of the head was reached, its hight 
measured, photographs taken, the 
precarious condition of the forehead 
stone again discovered, and that with 
deep concern for the future security 
of New Hampshire's greatest attrac- 
tion. 




AFTER "THE OPERATION" 

Parts of two of the three anchor irons 

showing;. 



A little latter the matter was 
taken up with the proprietor of The 
Profile House, the former discovery 
and investigation reviewed, but left 
as before in spite of the expressed 
conviction that " it is only a ques- 
tion of time " before the Profile 
would fall to pieces. 



Indians concerning the Profile, it 
would seem most unreasonable to 
think that they knew nothing about 
it, for in their prowllngs they must 
have noticed it from the shore of 
Profile Lake, and that years before 
the first road was laid out through 
the Notch. To them it must have 
semed a personification of the Great 
Spirit and doubtless elicited their 
worshipful adoration. 

The discovery of the Profile by 
white men is given the date of 180 5, 
when it was discovered by accident 
as follows : Nathaniel Hall, then of 
Thornton, N. H., with others, was in 
the employ of Hon. Enock Colby, 
who had been engaged by the State 
to lay out a road from Woodstock, 
(then called Peeling,) to Franconia. 
Late one afternoon the party camped 
for the night at the southern end of 
the little lake at the foot of the. 
mountain. In the morning Mr. Hall," 
who had gone out early with his gun 
to look for partridges for breakfast, 
happened to look up from a spot by 
the lake whence he beheld the most 
wonderful face he had he ever seen! 
So amazed was he that he forgot 
about the birds he was after, and 
hastened back to bring feis compan- 
ions to see and confirm the great dis- 
covery. So far as we know, it was 
in this accidental way that white 
men first viewed this amazing spec- 
tacle, which has since become the 
main attraction of the entire White 
Mountain region, and the most 
famous of all natural Profiles known 
to man. This account of this dis- 
covery of the Profile is vouched for 



award ever made by the Club, but 
arrangements have been made 
whereby in the future any who ren- 
der exceptional and uncompensated 
service in conserving the natural at- 
tractions of our State, may be sim- 
ilarly rewarded. 

" Good Bye, Old Man '* 

The attitude of the sublime eastern 
gaze of " The Old Man of the Moun- 
tain " is such as to justify the ques- 
tion asked by Mrs. Laura H. Grey 
in the verse: — 

" Is he waiting for the dawning 

Of the Grand Bternal Day ? 

Is he watching for the morning 

When these hills shall pass away?" 

However this may be, we do be- 
lieve that now the Profile will remain 
intact and inspiring as ever " till 
time shall be no more." 



COURIER PRINTING COMPANY 
LITTLETON, N. H. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 984 767 2 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 984 767 2 



